Tennessee files motion asking for Peyton Manning claim to be dropped from lawsuit

Lawyers for the University of Tennessee filed a motion on Tuesday night asking for references to the Peyton Manning sexual assault accusation to be removed from a lawsuit accusing the school of creating a hostile sexual environment.

In the motion, the lawyers called the Manning reference “immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous,” per the Knoxville News Sentinel. They also say the mention of the Manning case is an attempt to generate publicity.

Six women, five of whom say they were victims of rape, filed a lawsuit against the school saying the university created a hostile and discriminatory environment against victims. The Manning case was listed as one of many examples of the school’s continuing problems.

The lawyers for Tennessee say raising allegations that occurred nearly 20 years ago is “irrelevant” and an invasion of privacy to Manning and former Tennessee athletic trainer Jamie Naughright, who accused Manning of sticking his rear and genitals in her face in Feb. 1996. The matter was settled between the two parties and Naughright left her job at Tennessee.

New documents show Naughright called a sexual assault crisis hotline hours after her incident with Manning and that she feared a cover-up by Tennessee.

Lawyers and those supporting Tennessee will say the Manning matter is old and being used to grab headlines. Opponents will say this motion by Tennessee’s lawyers is another example of the school trying to cover for important figures, which is exactly what the suit is trying to fight.